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Undergraduate Research

The laboratory facilities in Human Biology support lower and upper level courses in all emphases of the Human Biology major and minor as well as many courses in the Biology major and minor.  The laboratories that accompany lower level courses focus on the fundamental concepts of Human Biology and Biology. The upper level laboratory courses are more specialized. The laboratories are housed in the Laboratory Science (LS) building.

State-of-the-art equipment is housed in the laboratories. Many faculty have been instrumental in obtaining funding for this equipment. The students in the Human Biology and Biology courses utilize this equipment as they acquire an understanding of the scientific method and an in depth knowledge in various areas of Human Biology. Throughout their laboratory experiences, students gain an understanding of modern techniques through hands-on activities and acquire experience in properly conducting controlled experiments. Students also develop skills in the reading of scientific literature.

The Human Biology curriculum requires students to complete laboratories at the upper level in one or more areas. At the cellular/molecular level, students perform experiments in which they become familiar with techniques of tissue culture, in situ hybridization, fluorescent microscopy, gel electrophoresis, restriction mapping, and DNA cloning. At the organismal level, students perform experiments in which they become familiar with physiological techniques used to study human functions in the muscular, nervous, cardiovascular and respiratory systems. In anatomy and developmental laboratories human structure, growth, differentiation, and morphogenesis are the fundamental foci. Nutritional/dietetic students are involved in laboratories focusing on the objective evaluation of food and food preparation.

Juniors and seniors are encouraged to do Undergraduate Research in an area of their interest. A faculty advisor supervises each project that a student performs. If a student wishes to pursue one of these, he/she should contact a Human Biology advisor in an area of interest.

The University has specific guidelines for a student to enroll in an Undergraduate Research course. In addition, the Human Biology program has additional guidelines that a student must meet. They are as follows:

Credit Requirement Guidelines

  1. For one credit, a student
    • should complete a laboratory problem with a report.

  2. For two credits, a student
    • should be involved with a substantial laboratory/field research problem and submit a written report.
       
  3. For three or four credits
    • Similar requirements as for two credits, but more extensive lab research is involved.

  4. A guideline for establishing the number of credits is the following: minimum of three hours per week of work for each hour of credit granted. In a 15 week semester, that would be a total of 45 hours of work for one credit.

Course Guidelines

  1. The student should have regular meetings with the instructor.

  2. The UW-Green Bay writing policy should be followed in preparation of the paper. Additional requirements as to style and format may be given by the instructor (e.g. the instructor may request that the paper be written in the format of a particular journal in the field). It is suggested that a draft be prepared for review by the instructor before the final typed copy is submitted.

Registration Requirements

  1. A Proposal Form should be filled out and agreed upon by the student and the instructor. The form requests a description of the project, a timetable for the project, and the basis for evaluation.  Students can obtain this form from the Registrar.

  2. After the form is filled out, the instructor must approve the project by signing the form. This form must also be signed by the Human Biology Chair before the student can register for the course.
     
  3. The student should register for Hum Biol 495 or Nut Sci 495, depending upon the nature of the project
Those students who qualify are also encouraged to pursue Honors in the Major. This project should be planned during the junior year. The University has specific guidelines for an Honors in the Major. The criteria for an Honors in Human Biology are similar to that of a three or four credit Undergraduate Research with an additional requirement of a presentation at an undergraduate research symposium or a professional meeting.